


Years in the Making

by harmony88



Series: Forever With You: Part 2 [17]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Episode AU: s02e02 Tooth and Claw, Episode Related, F/M, Light Angst, Marriage, Retracing Footsteps, Romance, Sex, This Series is a Post Doomsday AU, Time Travel, problem solving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:20:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29772615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harmony88/pseuds/harmony88
Summary: COMPLETEHalfway through her pregnancy, Rose and the Doctor are forced to go back in time and retrace their steps at the Torchwood Estate, risking a paradox and their entire life together to get some answers they are desperately seeking.“Of course not,” she said with a wink, and he sighed.“I’m serious. We can snap the timeline in a second, Rose. I’d lose you. Both of you, before I could even blink,” he reminded her, his hearts breaking at the mere thought, enough so that he was talking himself out of doing this. She held his hand tightly.“Not if it's all part of it already,” she whispered. “We just have to be careful. And we will be. I mean, it's not like I’m going to go into labor or -”“That’s not funny,” he said, his nerves impossibly jumbled at the moment. She just took a deep breath.“Stop. Breathe. Believe in me, Doctor. In us?” she whispered, and their eyes locked, hazel galaxies swimming in chocolate.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Forever With You: Part 2 [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2111892
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	1. Time Turners and Werewolves

**Author's Note:**

> As with all of the stories in this series, they all are related, so bits may not make complete sense if you haven't read the others. Thank you for reading!

And just like that, she was halfway through her pregnancy.

Her nausea was gone. Her energy was mostly back, and her body was releasing timestamps less frequently which was making her less sore than she had been. Sleep was getting a little challenging some nights, but her skin was absolutely glowing, and her body was only getting curvier. The Doctor was so attracted to her he found it absolutely impossible not to touch her in some way every moment of the day, and if he couldn’t touch her or kiss her, he was thinking about touching or kissing her.

He supposed that wasn’t so different from usual.

Her cravings had only gotten stronger too, officially starting to try some rather strange combinations, and she was a woman on a mission when she walked into the galley, desperate to find something with vinegar.

“Where are the crisps?!” she yelled, and he walked into the room, holding a book in his hand that he quickly lowered to his side as he watched her huff and push food containers around.

“Not in the fridge,” he said simply, and she just shot him a look that made him bite his cheek to stop from laughing. “Here.”

He put his book down on the counter and walked to the cupboard, pulling a brand new bag of salt and vinegar potato crisps down and handing it to her, and she broke it open, still standing half in the open refrigerator, and he watched her, a small smile on his lips.

She grabbed a fistful, shoving it in her mouth and letting out a breath, and she finally closed the refrigerator as she took another few crisps out of the bag, and then offered him some. He just shook his head and she shrugged, taking another bite, and she rested against the counter.

“Do we still have a jar of gherkins?” she asked, and he smiled, pointing next to her. She looked down and rolled her eyes, setting aside the bag of crisps to pop the lid and grab her next snack, humming as she ate it. She looked at it, contemplating, and he watched her go to the freezer and pull out ice cream. “This is a good idea, right?”

“I’m staying out of it,” he said, and she bit her lip.

“I just kinda want to try it,” she said thoughtfully, and he put his hands in his pockets as she grabbed a spoon and scooped a small amount of vanilla ice cream, putting it on top of her half eaten gherkin.

He tried so hard not to make a face. He really did. He tried _so_ hard. He knew this was a common craving, it was perfectly natural and wouldn’t harm her in any way, but when she actually took the damn bite he grimaced a little, and she swallowed.

“It’s not bad,” she said, and she moved to do it again. He just turned around, darting his tongue in and out of his mouth as if he licked a pear and she smirked, nudging her mind to his so he would get a sense of what it tasted like and he turned instantly.

“Oh, that’s not fair,” he said and she put up her blocks instantly, laughing.

“Sorry,” she said. She put the jar down and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him. He kissed her nose and she smiled. “What were you reading?”

“Oh,” he said, releasing his hold to grab the book, “What to Expect When You Are Alien and Your Human Wife, Who Has Non-Human Abilities and Traits, Is Expecting.”

“Funny,” she said, and he just smiled.

“Birthing manual,” he said more seriously. She raised her eyebrows at him,

“They made a _manual_ for that?” she exclaimed, slightly irritated. “What man decided that was a good idea?” He bit his lip for a moment as he smiled at her and she grabbed the book, opening it up. “You git.”

He was reading _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban._

“You’re so gullible,” he said, still smiling, and she hit his arm as he laughed at her.

“Haven’t you read this like ten times already?” she said, tossing the book back. He just shrugged.

“It’s my favorite one,” he said. “And...well...there’s werewolves and time travel in it, and I just thought -”

“J.K. Rowling is the answer to our Queen Victoria problem?” she said, amused, and he just laughed.

“No, of course not,” he said. “Though she was incredibly accurate with the laws of time. Some days I honestly wonder if I meet her at some point and consult.” Rose smirked at him and he ran his hand through his hair.

“That does sound like something you’d do,” she said.

“Doesn’t it just?” he mused, and their eyes danced for a moment. “I just thought maybe it would help. Somehow. I dunno.”

She counted the freckles on his face for the thousandth time as she looked at him, and her hand rested on her ever-growing stomach.

They had spent the last fourteen days with Jackie, who quickly got over her frustration that it took them nearly two months to come back for a visit when she discovered she would have a granddaughter. They had mostly relaxed, though one night they had a dinner party with Jack, Mickey, Martha and Donna, and the Doctor and Tony had made up about seven new games to play together. It had been lovely, but Jackie eventually started to _hover,_ insisting Rose not help her with anything and just sit on the couch and remember she was pregnant, and she had started to lose her mind a little.

It felt very good to be back in the stars, but they were reminded just how stuck they were in terms of figuring out what these diamonds were, where they came from, who else knew about them and what their plan for them was, and she wasn’t entirely surprised he’d resorted to something like this.

They still, _somehow_ , didn’t really know anything.

“Come here,” she said, pulling him into a hug. His arms wrapped around her, rosewater filling the air, and he sighed.

“I like the new shampoo,” he whispered with a smirk, and she just smiled. “Did you get enough to eat?”

She pulled away and shook her head, and he kissed her briefly before he moved to the cabinets, pulling out random ingredients. “The TARDIS can just make something, Doctor.”

“I want to do it,” he said, opening a can of broth.

“Okay,” she mumbled, and she looked back down at the book he had set on the counter, flipping through. She wasn’t really reading it, but one line caught her eye that made her chuckle. “This sounds like us.”

“What?” he said, adding more ingredients to his makeshift soup.

“‘I don’t go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me’,” she read aloud, smirking at him as he looked at her over his shoulder.

“Your mother has said some derivative of that to us before, I think,” he said winking and she laughed, closing the book and leaning her cheek into her palm.

“Surprised you aren’t calling _her_ the trouble,” she said, and he just gave her a look.

The amount of bantering he’d done with Jackie Tyler over the last two weeks should go in some record book.

“Me? Insult your mother?” he asked, feigning offense, and she just rolled her eyes. “Do you want carrots?”

“Sure,” she said, almost like a question, and he sniffed, quickly slicing up a single stick and adding it to the pot as well. “What are you making?”

“No idea,” he said. “Making it up as I go along.”

“Your signature,” she said, and they both started laughing. “Well, it smells good.”

“Yeah?” he asked, stepping away from the stove as his concoction worked its way to a boil and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her neck as he kissed her temple. His thumb began to trace small circles on her shoulder and she leaned against him, closing her eyes. “You smell good.”

Pregnancy pheromones. He couldn’t get enough.

He moved his hands so he could run them along her belly, which was rounder than it had ever been, but not as round as they both knew it would be, and she pressed her back against his chest. They stayed there for a few minutes, both basking in the moment until his soup started to boil and he added seasonings and other ingredients. She couldn’t tell what, but she was positive it was full of nutrients and all the things he was still determined to make sure she was getting with each passing day.

He set a bowl down in front of her and handed her a spoon, and they chatted for a bit, sipping and holding hands.

“Alright, Rose Tyler. New ground beneath our feet...where do you want to go?” he asked, winking.

“Somewhere….fancy. Where we have to dress up. Dance a little,” she said, and he smiled at her.

“We can do that,” he said, and she took another sip, their eyes sparkling.

“I know it might seem silly. I just want to wear something nice again before I’m too big. Spent the last two weeks mostly in sweatpants,” she said.

“Yes, but they were really, truly, very sexy sweatpants,” he said, and she rolled her eyes.

“You’re sweet. Just...I have a feeling there’s going to come a point where the thought of putting on clothes at all is going to exhaust me...” she said, and their eyes were dancing, picturing that time with flittering anticipation knowing it would mean Alice would be there soon.

“Well, it’s a good thing you’ll have me there. I can wiggle you in and out of whatever you want to wear,” he said, teasing, but they both knew he also meant it, and for the first time in a while she was hit by the blinding realization that she married _the Doctor,_ and that it was so much more than she could have ever imagined.

He was so much more than she could have ever imagined.

Maybe it was hormones, maybe it was the way he looked in his t-shirt and messy hair, maybe it was the fact that they were finally back in the stars where they both knew they belonged, or maybe it was just _him_ , but the next thing she knew she was pushing her bowl of soup away and crossing to sit in his lap, her belly facing away from him as she leaned down and kissed him.

His hands were on her thigh and hip, and he deepened the kiss, sneaking his tongue into her mouth and tangoing in circles that tasted like the broth he made, and she smiled as their teeth scraped gently against each other, their lips never breaking, and he had to pull away.

“I really can’t handle the way you smell, Rose,” he whispered. “You’re driving me crazy.”

“Good,” she said, kissing him again, and she could feel the twitch of his groin beneath her thigh. “Oh, hello…”

“Hi,” he said huskily, and he began to brush his fingers across her chest, soft, careful strokes that sent a shiver down her spine, and he pulled her mouth back to his, unable to get enough of her taste. “If we keep going I won’t be able to stop. We have a date planned.”

“Who said I wanted to stop?” she whispered, and he clicked his jaw.

They hadn’t made love too much while they were at Jackie’s. Once or twice, but he was a little paranoid Tony might hear again or Jackie would somehow interrupt or make some snide comment about it, and he groaned her name as she began to suckle his neck.

“We have to be...Rose…” he said, forgetting his train of thought.

“Have to be what?” she murmured, her voice sounding far more controlled than she was feeling.

Her sex drive, she was just realizing, was amplified too.

“Mmmm,” he hummed, unable to form words as she moved to straddle him, and he felt her run her hands through his hair.

“What, Doctor?” she whispered, honestly surprised he found her attractive in this moment, but too turned on to question it. Her hair was in a very messy bun, she was wearing a zipped hoodie over a pair of black sweats and not a drop of makeup, but he started grinding against her and she forgot about all of it, moving to grind with him.

“Careful,” he finally said. “Angles…”

“Ooh, I like angles. Tell me more,” she whispered, and he grabbed her lips with his, the kisses growing frenzied and slightly frantic.

“You can’t be on your back for too long,” he said, his breath catching in his throat.

“Okay,” she said, “Not what I had planned anyway.”

“You had a plan, did you?” he asked seductively, his voice much lower than usual as he kissed the spot just below her ear. She gripped the back of the chair he was sitting in and nodded.

“We can do it right here, if you want,” she said. “Not picky.”

“Half the refrigerator is on the counter,” he whispered.

It was one of the most domestic things he’d ever said, worrying about groceries, and it made her pull away from the kiss to smile at him.

“If only we had a telepathic spaceship that could take care of that for us,” she said, her tongue in the corner of her mouth, and suddenly it was all gone and he sighed, realizing she had talked to the TARDIS with her mind, and the Old Girl stepped in.

“Plays favorites,” he murmured as he kissed her again, and he hissed her name, still finding it all amazing that she could do that sort of thing. “My impossible human…”

“Doctor…” she cried, her need growing more urgent, and he pulled back with a ‘pop.’

“Show me what you had in mind, Rose Tyler,” he whispered, his eyes never leaving her face as she unzipped her hoodie and slid out of her sweats. She already wasn’t wearing a bra and he wanted to be the one to take her knickers off, which he did in seconds, leaving her naked before him with the light of the hallway spilling in behind her, and for the millionth time in their relationship, gold light and Rose left he was speechless.

She pulled his shirt off, and he tried to stand to take off his trousers, but she made him stay seated and did it herself, then removed his boxers at a tantalizingly slow pace.

“Close your eyes,” she whispered, “You need saving.”

“From?” he groaned, and she nibbled on her lip.

“No idea,” she said. “Making it up as I go along.”

He smiled, her wit forever one of his favorite things about her and he shut his eyes, anticipating the feel of her around him, but it still made him cry out when she did lower her body onto his. She was warmer than he expected, her body temperature rising slightly the more pregnant she got, and his hands were everywhere. She stopped, leaning her lips to his ear.

“No touching. Not till I say,” she whispered teasingly, and his chest was heaving.

He wasn’t sure how she did it, but the desire she constantly ignited in him was all consuming and primal, and he found not touching her one of the hardest and most deliciously arousing things they’d ever tried, and he was reaching his peak quicker than he would like.

“Tell me you’re close,” he moaned. " _Please_ , Rose…”

She loved him like this, a complete puddle beneath her that she had full control over. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him, and just as she was about to sway her body in a slightly different way, they both collapsed to the ground.

He had gripped the chair so tightly he snapped it in half.

He was stronger than he looked.

She burst out laughing, and he looked at her in alarm, terrified he hurt her in some way, but her laughter calmed him instantly and he started to smile. She broke into a full cackle, and he watched as she kicked the broken pieces of the chair away, his body still very much much a part of hers, and the movement of her legs felt better than he could even describe.

“Careful of splinters, love,” he said, still aware enough of their surroundings to worry about her through his moans.

“I’m not nearly as fragile as this damn chair,” she whispered playfully, and the velvet tone of her voice made him clench his jaw and bite his tongue, and she just smiled one of the most brilliant smiles he’d ever seen.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Yes,” she whispered, and she glanced down, noticing a small amount of blood trickling out of his leg from where the wood snapped and cut him. He didn’t seem to care, his eyes were only on her, but she sighed and it made him glance over just as the blood was starting to gush a bit more, and he tried to pull away.

“‘I’m sorry. I should -” he said, and she kissed him.

“Let me?” she said, and he cleared his throat, finding the thought of him inside of her while she did _that_ arousing for a reason he couldn’t possibly try to understand at the moment.

She did things to him he simply couldn’t comprehend. His wife.

“I'm pretty sure I won't last if you do,” he whispered with a small smile, and she just tilted her head at him thoughtfully, running her finger across his chest.

“I said you’d need saving..” she said, and he caved, nodding as she began to sway her body and heal his cut at the same time, a perfect mix of pain and pleasure that Rose amplified by joining their minds, and it felt so good it was blinding. 

He cursed. Loudly.

“Oh my _God_ ,” she cried, and he looked at her with a hunger that hadn’t been there before.

“Get over here,” he growled, snatching her lips in a kiss, and he pushed the broken chair out from under him, lying on his back as she moved atop him, and the dam broke almost instantly.

They cried each other’s names on the galley floor, a place they had somehow never made love, and if Rose wasn’t coming down off such an intense high, she’d make some witty comment about it.

She pressed her back against the leg of the table and he had to keep his eyes closed for a moment while he caught his breath. He knew by now, when it came to sex with Rose Tyler, his respiratory bypass was useless.

“Well, that was fun,” she said with a saucy grin, and he started to laugh as she slid off of him, resting her legs beside his.

“You’re amazing,” he said, his breath still heavy and he sat up to look at her. “Molto Bene...I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said. “Is your leg okay?”

“Oh, yes,” he said, winking at her, and she bit her lip. “Just gonna lay here for a bit.”

“Okay,” she chuckled, and she held his hand, her eyes tracing the broken bits of chair that were now a couple feet away, noticing the way it splintered off.

She felt her stomach flip, a memory coming to her mind as she stared at it.

_“Did it bite you?” the Doctor asked, glancing at Rose._

_“No, it’s...it’s a cut, that’s all,” Queen Victoria said, admiring her wrist._

_“If that thing bit you…” he said, alarmed._

_“It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart. It’s nothing,” she insisted calmly._

She looked at her husband, an idea suddenly formulating in her head that she knew was so mad, it just might work. “Doctor?”

“Hm?” he asked, opening one eye to look at her. She bit her lip.

“Just...Harry Potter...Maybe it’s not such a bad idea,” she whispered. Both of his eyes opened now and he sat up, staring at her.

“You mean...Rose, no,” he said, and she grabbed his hand.

“The only way we can possibly move forward with these diamonds, Doctor, is to go back. We’re stuck. We need to see where this all began. Retrace our footsteps. We might have missed something that can help,” she whispered. “Like with the time-turner. Harry and Hermione went back and they realized things they didn’t see the first time. And it was all part of their timeline. Things happened that didn’t make sense initially, but -”

"Are you trying to persuade me to do this by showing me your knowledge of Harry Potter?" he asked. 

"Is it working?" she teased, and just stared at her. 

“Rose, do you know how dangerous that is? What you’re suggesting?” he said seriously, and she just gave him a look.

They both knew she did.

“Long as we aren’t seen by anyone who knows us or met us at a different point in time, we’ll be fine, right? So we just need to stay away from the Queen, Flora, ourselves of course, Robert and Isobel…” she said, biting her lip, realizing what a long list that actually was. “We can’t figure out the present until we know the past. I feel it. Instincts.”

He stared at her, and he ran a hand over his face. “Crossing our own timeline, Rose…”

“What if it’s not, though? Doctor, what if this was all meant to be and we’re supposed to do this? Think about it,” she began. “You set the coordinates that day to 1979. You were so damn excited about that concert, you and I both know you checked everything over four times.” He glanced down at his healed cut, knowing that was true, and she continued. “What if...Doctor, what if us arriving a century too early was the TARDIS stepping in again? In case we followed this timeline? In case we made her?”

She placed a hand over her belly, reminding him what they were fighting for, and he sighed.

“Destiny,” he mumbled, clenching his jaw.

“Or whatever you want to call it,” she whispered with her tongue in cheek smile, nudging him playfully in the side with her hand. “We have to try.”

A moment or two passed where he stared at her, and he eventually made a single nod.

“We park nowhere near where we did the first time,” he said sternly. “We wear disguises. Bio-dampers. The TARDIS from the past will know we’re there and it might stop me from landing if we don’t. We do not get seen.”

“Of course not,” she said with a wink, and he sighed.

“I’m serious. We can snap the timeline in a second, Rose. I’d lose you. Both of you, before I could even blink,” he reminded her, his hearts breaking at the mere thought, enough so that he was talking himself out of doing this. She held his hand tightly.

“Not if it's all part of it already,” she whispered. “We just have to be careful. And we will be. I mean, it's not like I’m going to go into labor or -”

“That’s not funny,” he said, his nerves impossibly jumbled at the moment. She just took a deep breath.

“Stop. Breathe. Believe in me, Doctor. In us?” she whispered, and their eyes locked, hazel galaxies swimming in chocolate.

“You know I do,” he said so quietly she barely heard him. He ran a hand over his face. “We just can’t afford any mistakes, Rose. Not a single one.”

“Good thing we’re clever,” she said, a conviction in her voice that eased his beating hearts just a touch. He leaned in, pressing his lips to hers a little more desperately than he meant to. “Do you want to take a bath first?”

“Yes,” he said, not even trying to hide his fear. She nodded and stood, leading him to the ensuite where he could hold her in his arms and calm himself down in the warmth of the water and the sweet smell of the bubbles. Every movement of their bodies caused the water to ripple, and forced him to remember that they were finishing what they started.

It was a timeline years in the making.


	2. Tooth and Claw

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't find a way to break this up without messing with the flow, so it's kind of long.

A few hours later, the Doctor was wearing an unassuming suit perfect for blending in with the 19th century. He stayed away from black, knowing it might make him seem like house staff and he couldn’t afford to get roped into any duties, so he opted for a light gray with a white collared shirt. He added small round specs to his nose and was staring at the most recent sonogram he took in the last week when they were still in Jackie’s backyard, remembering his delight when he told Rose their daughter was now the size of a banana, and he was gripping the console so tightly his knuckles were burning.

Rose walked in wearing a brown wig that was pulled back in a period appropriate twist. Small ringlet curls framed the side of her face, and she wore a gray jacquard dress with tiny, delicate buttons all down the front. There was a small bustle, the bottom of the skirt was pinched into ruffles, and the fabric had thin pinstripes on it. He glanced up, noticing a small pink ascot she’d added around her neck, and his eyes immediately dropped to the way her belly looked under all the layers, so breathtakingly beautiful he almost talked himself out of this again.

“Pinstripes?” he said with a small smirk, and she turned in a circle, the sound of her 19th century boots clicking against the grating.

“You look handsome,” she said, smiling at him as she moved to stand by the console. “Not stroking your ego, but it’s definitely those sideburns.”

He smiled, her joke doing what she hoped it would and he placed a hand on her belly as he kissed her. “You look absolutely gorgeous, Rose.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. Their eyes danced for a moment, and she felt him playing with her wedding ring, his heartbeat that reverberated inside of it beating a little more rapidly than he wanted it to. “We’re going to be okay.”

“Yeah,” he said, looking down at the wires he was so fond of in moments like this, when he knows he’s about to do something he really doesn’t want to do. “We’re still in the Vortex, but I have the coordinates set to land on the opposite side of the region. We’ll have to walk, Rose, I’m sorry. We can’t risk taking a carriage, in case anyone might…”

“This clutch?” she said, holding up a small black wallet, “Bigger on the inside. I’ve got trainers if I need them.”

“Snacks? After Wonderland, I…” he said, still angry at himself for how ill-prepared he was in terms of getting her food that day. She squeezed his hand.

“Lots of them,” she said with a smile, and he took a deep breath.

“If you need anything, Rose, tell me. We’ll come back, it’s not worth -” he started to say, and she cupped her hands firmly to his cheeks, her eyes searching his for the familiar giddiness she knew was currently hiding.

“It is worth it,” she whispered. “For Alice, yeah?”

He felt his throat tighten, and he nodded once. “For Alice.”

“You hear that, little one? This is for you, so don’t you dare make Mummy have to pee every hour or -” she began, and he pulled her to him mid-sentence, still overwhelmed watching her talk to her stomach or refer to herself as ‘Mummy’.

“I can’t lose you,” he said, his voice breaking, and she felt her heart break with it.

It had been so long since he’d said those words.

“You won’t,” she whispered fiercely, “I promise. We are going to be fine. We’re just flies on the wall, Doctor. Observing, taking in information, seeing what we missed.”

He didn’t say anything, and his heartbeat in her ring only grew more rapid as he clung to her for a moment, breathing her in. He pulled away and stared at her as he pulled on the lever, doing so before he lost his nerve entirely.

He trusted her instincts, he did. But his entire world was at stake, and it was a lot to process.

The gentle hum of the TARDIS materializing echoed across the rolling hills of Scotland just as it had ten minutes prior, miles away. He sniffed and looked at Rose who just nodded, and he grabbed her hand, forgetting to say ‘Allons-y’ as he pushed the door open and stared out into the blue sky.

The air smelled exactly as they remembered.

“Come on,” Rose said. “We’re okay.”

He was stiff as his feet touched the grass, practically feeling the ripple he sent through their timeline as he did. They moved in silence, holding hands tightly, but time didn’t feel like it was completely unraveling around him. He can usually sense it, an impending paradox. It’s partly why his father’s appearance a few weeks ago had startled him so much. There was a moment, before he knew what his plan was, where he sensed the potential. The moment where everything could fall apart like a dying star into the Void or beyond.

He didn’t feel that now, and he was starting to breathe a little easier, realizing that Rose was right. They were supposed to be here.

Deep down he already knew that, he supposed, but the confirmation was comforting.

“See? We’re okay,” she said softly, her words breaking his thought bubble and the silence they were walking in.

“Yeah,” he said softly. The potential for things to go wrong at some point and still trigger a paradox was much too high for him to find joy or fun in this, and he knew he wouldn’t get _calm,_ and he just tried to let that be okay.

They walked, and walked, and walked. The sun was high in the sky, small clouds slowly moving around it, and he glanced up, remembering that it was a full moon tonight. He sniffed, looking back down at the path they were walking on, and Rose just sighed.

“Ten questions?” she asked. He looked at her.

“Rose,” he said softly, and she nudged her shoulder into his.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun,” she said. “There’s no way I know everything about you, love.”

He stopped, and despite the thudding of his hearts, he smiled.

“You’ve never called me that,” he whispered.

“Yes I have,” she said, but he shook his head. “Really?”

“I like it,” he said, smiling wider. She bit her lip, and before she could feel too guilty he just squeezed her hand and kept walking. “You go first.”

“Which incarnation was the worst cook?” she asked, and he laughed.

“Second,” he said. “That’s one of the bodies that barely made it twenty years. ‘Cosmic Hobo’ they called me.” She just looked at him and he squeezed her hand again. “Best trip we’ve taken together?”

“Krop-Tor,” she teased, and he just sighed and clenched his jaw. “Kidding. Atlantis, obviously.” She smiled up at him, and for a moment as their eyes danced, he forgot what he was so nervous about, and he smiled. “Something...special you want to teach her?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, and she just placed a hand on her stomach, looking up at the clouds in the same way he had a little while before.

“Well,” she began. “I want to teach her gymnastics. So when she’s older and we’re travelling and we’re inevitably stopped by aliens she can wiggle her way out of situations.”

He clenched his jaw, his nerves coming back, and he sighed.

“Gallifreyan,” he said, and Rose kissed his shoulder.

“Of course we’re doing that,” she whispered. “What else?”

“I already said I’d teach her how to swim,” he said. “Maybe how to fly the TARDIS?”

“Yeah?” she said, giddy. He laughed at the joy in her voice and he pulled her to him, walking with his arm around her waist.

“I think that would be fun,” he said wistfully, and Rose watched as his mind wandered for a bit. Their blocks were up, he was feeling too stressed out and she knew better than to ask, but she sensed his longing, and she leaned her head on his shoulder as they continued to walk.

“I guess I should teach her how to drive a car, too,” she said. “We’ll probably spend a fair amount of time on Earth.”

“Well, I’m not letting your mother teach her, not after what you told me before,” he said, and Rose bit her lip. His face suddenly paled, and he wasn’t even sure where his next thought came from. “She’s eventually going to date, isn’t she?”

“Of course she is,” she said, laughing at him. He just stared at her. “But we’re at least...I dunno, twenty years or maybe even longer away from that, aren’t we? Especially with your weird Time Lord aging thing?”

“Probably, but -” he said, and she flashed him a look, stopping their walking for a moment to tease him.

“You promise me right now, mister, you are not going to completely embarrass her or make her boyfriend or girlfriend or whoever she brings home’s life a living hell.”

“I would never,” he said, and she just gave him a look. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. If we’re traveling all the time she may not even have time to date.”

She just rolled her eyes and he laughed, kissing her.

He realized in that moment, as they laughed under the sunlight, that she was right. The game was a distraction from his dread, and he was having fun. He clicked his jaw as he shook his head in amazement at her, and she just shrugged.

“What can I say?” she asked, somehow knowing what he was thinking even with their blocks up. “I’m very good.”

“Yes, you are,” he said softly, kissing her again. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered. “So much.”

They kept going, asking a few more questions and, for the first time, getting through all ten when they suddenly saw the Torchwood Estate in the distance, somehow arriving just as the carriage they followed from before was pulling up. They stayed where they were, watching themselves watch the Queen step out, and both of their hearts stopped beating for a moment.

“Blimey,” Rose said. “I look so -”

“Beautiful,” he said, and she looked at him, blushing a little. “I thought that all day back then, too.”

“I was going to say young,” she said, and he laughed.

“We both were,” he said. “I mean, look at my hair. Hadn’t yet been cut. Should never have done that the first time, it’s been -”

He stopped talking when the Queen began to gesture to the house, and he watched themselves flirt as Rose tried to get her to say she wasn’t amused. He remembered with a skip of his hearts the way teasing her about her ‘nakedness’ had sent his hormones wild, even back then. The moment that thought was put into his head he had noticed how shapely her legs were in those black tights and his mind had wandered, and Rose turned her attention away from their younger selves to watch the people around them for the first time.

The air felt thick. Like a storm was approaching, and she knew exactly what it was.

The coachman was still sitting in the carriage, not looking at anyone, awaiting further instructions. She knew every butler and footman who was standing outside were all part of the Brethren, and for a moment she wondered if they had anything to do with this, but her Instincts told her it was highly unlikely. They both watched Robert glance at Father Angelo as he led everyone inside.

He watched his younger self brush his hand against Rose’s, and he bit his cheek.

They waited for a moment, but none of the soldiers in red seemed out of place, and she let out a breath.

“Instincts?” he whispered, looking at her. She shook her head.

“Nothing yet. We need to get closer,” she said. He clenched his jaw.

His brain was fighting him again with every step he took, and he looked at the area surrounding the estate. It was a lot of grass, and the wind was strong, and he panicked for a moment and pulled her down into the tall blades to hide as they watched Robert step back out to dismiss the carriage, sending it to park by the stables as the remaining soldiers followed the Queen inside the house. They were still a fair distance away, but they were close enough to sense the despair that accompanied Robert, and the Doctor sighed.

“He was a good man,” he said under his breath, and Rose looked at him.

“He was,” she murmured. “Come on. I don’t get taken for another two hours or so. We can do some sleuthing.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, grabbing her hand. “That it took me so long to come for you.”

“We are so far past that I can’t even take you seriously right now,” she teased, and he just smirked. “Let’s go.”

He helped her stand as they moved toward the estate, and they pulled out their sonic screwdrivers, scanning the area for anything out of the ordinary. No one was outside as it was still daylight, and they knew the Brethren had the entire staff (minus Flora) and Lady Isobel in the cellar, and Rose glanced up, looking in the general direction she knew the moon would appear in just a few hours.

The Doctor felt incredibly uneasy the closer they got to the house, terrified someone might spot them through a window, and he tucked Rose up against the wall, out of sight as they inched their way forward.

The large window the telescope sat through was directly above their heads, and they stopped, looking at it as they heard themselves speaking, not realizing how well sound would carry at the time.

“What did he model it on?” the Doctor asked.

“I know nothing about it. To be honest, most of us thought him a little, shall we say, eccentric. I wish now I’d spent more time with him and listened to his stories,” Robert replied, a heavy sadness accompanying his final sentence.

The Doctor and Rose listened, holding hands, when they saw a shadow moving across the courtyard near the stables. The Doctor froze, his stomach twisting so tightly it hurt, and Rose felt her own nerves quicken, but she quickly realized it hadn’t seen them, and she let out a breath.

“We should go look,” she whispered.

He closed his eyes, every alarm bell going off in head. Every lesson his father ever taught him flooded to his mind at once. Every mistake he’d made in the past, every misstep, every miscalculation, it all hit him like a tidal wave and it ended with him screaming Rose’s name as she slipped from that lever.

He held her hand tighter.

“I need a second,” he said.

“I know,” she said. “I’m right here.”

“Rose…” he said, and she nudged her mind.

_I’m right here._

He felt pathetic, even though he knew his fears were justified. It was a strange battle he was having in his head. He felt like a shit Time Lord, a shit husband, and a shit father for allowing this to happen, but he also knew that he knew he’d feel like a shittier version of all of those things if he _didn’t_ do this. Destiny was at play, and he knew Rose was right to suggest coming here. He knew it, he just....

Sometimes, his brain really irritates him.

_Stop. Breathe._

He realized he hadn’t been, and he just looked at her, finding comfort in her eyes for a moment.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too,” she said, kissing his shoulder. “Let’s go, yeah?”

He glanced up at the window and nodded, about to follow her when he heard the Queen say she was tired of nakedness, and he stopped. “Rose, wait.”

They could hear themselves still talking, and he knew they were too close to the window at the moment, flirting and touching and bantering with their eyes to risk moving. All it would take was one small glance...

“It’s not amusing, is it?” Rose asked from above them, her voice sounding younger, too.

“You really thought that would work, didn’t you?” he murmured, and she rolled her eyes.

“Oi, I still won,” she teased and he chuckled a little.

“Sir Robert, your wife must have left some clothes. See to it. We shall dine at seven, and then talk more of this wolf. After all, there is a full moon tonight,” the Queen said, and the Doctor counted to six in his head, remembering that was how long it took Rose to walk out the door ahead of him in those black tights.

If he was feeling better, he’d tell her about how much he wanted to rip them off of her the entire trip, but instead he pulled her across the courtyard so quickly they were gone in a blink, and they found themselves in the back of the estate. Barrels of hay were overturned, and there were two dead bodies piled in a corner behind a wheelbarrow. The Doctor moved to them, scanning, and his brow was creased.

“They’ve been gone about seventeen hours,” he said. “Must be when the Brethren arrived. They broke their necks. The angle makes me think it was an accident...”

Rose looked around, and she saw broken equipment and scattered buckets and pitchforks, and she nibbled on her lip.

“I wondered how they got in. Flora tried telling me but she was so scared,” she said. “They took it by force.”

“Sort of figured that, didn’t we?” he asked, and Rose glanced over at him.

“Yeah, but now we know. See? Puzzle pieces,” she said, and she held her hand out. He took it and moved away from the bodies, and they tried to spot the shadow they saw before. “This way.”

Rose ducked behind a cart, and they saw the carriage that brought them there parked off to the side of haystacks. The horses were grazing inside the stable, and the Doctor’s brow furrowed, seeing the coachman still sitting in it, reading a letter.

They realized he must have been the shadow when he was moving the horses into place, and they watched as he sighed and took off his helmet, but his face was turned to the side and they couldn’t see it. His shoulders were hunched, as if the weight of the world was sitting on them, and they saw him bury his face in his hands before he reached under his seat, and pulled out a box wrapped in burlap.

“Mr. Townes!” a voice shouted, and Rose and the Doctor smiled. For a moment, the threat of a paradox was outshined by the name, and he looked at her, sighing.

“Well done, Rose Tyler,” he whispered, kissing her head.

“Don’t thank me yet, we need to figure out why he’s here,” she murmured, and she winked at him. Hope and determination began to course through them, and they watched another soldier walk up and stop near the back of the carriage. Mr. Townes jumped out of the front and slid the box back under the seat, looking at the horses as he walked toward the other soldier.

“I was just making sure -” he started to say, but the other soldier shook his head.

“Her Majesty has requested she and the other guests dine at seven. We need everyone to guard the doors,” he said “You should have been back thirty minutes ago.”

“I know, sir, I just -” he said, and the officer glared at him.

“You are one mistake away from being sent back to pressing suits and serving platters, Mr. Townes, ” he said harshly. “This is the last time I will say this. You are an officer and your distractedness is unbecoming. You have a patriotic duty. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Mr. Townes muttered, and Rose finally caught a glimpse of his face. He looked about thirty, clean shaven and tired. There were circles under his eyes, telling her he hadn’t slept properly in quite a while, and she was absolutely intrigued, wondering how this meek soldier became the Head Butler at the Isle of Wight who made so many threats twenty-two years from now.

They watched with bated breath, their hearts beating rapidly as the soldier led Mr. Townes away from the stables and toward the house. He looked back at the carriage, his eyes lingering under the seat, and the Doctor clenched his jaw.

“Oh, thank God, she’s pressing my bladder,” Rose groaned, and the Doctor smiled at her, helping her stand behind the cart.

“You need the loo?” he asked, and she shook her head.

“I’ll be fine,” she whispered. “Are they gone?”

The Doctor glanced over and nodded, and she grabbed his hand, walking up to the carriage and pulling the box in burlap out. The Doctor scanned it, and then unwrapped the fabric and twine, revealing a gorgeously designed case, and Rose held her breath as he carefully lifted the lid.

A revolver sat on a velvet pillow, and he took a deep breath.

“Well, who the hell was this for?” he muttered, and Rose reached into her clutch and grabbed a handkerchief. He raised an eyebrow at her, wondering why she had it and she just rolled her eyes.

“Pregnant and wearing a dress that weighs ten pounds. What do you think?” she asked, and he smiled as she gingerly wrapped the cloth and her hand around the barrel, turning it over so the Doctor could put the box down and open the cylinder, and he took the gun from her, empting the bullets into his hand. He had a look in his eye she recognized, and she groaned. “Don’t you dare -”

He licked one.

“Silver,” he said, his eyes locking with Rose. She felt her blood run cold for a moment and she furrowed her brow.

“He knew the wolf was here,” she whispered. “He was trying to stop it. Oh, my God…”

The Doctor clenched his jaw, unsure if he should return the gun or take it with him, and Rose looked over her shoulder at the stable doors, which were wide open, a few feet away. She turned toward them, deducting, and the estate was visible through the archway.

“The sun is starting to set... I’ll be kidnapped soon,” she said quietly, her hand on her belly. “Take the gun.”

“You sure?” he asked slowly. His voice was calculated and low, and she just nodded.

“Instincts. Throw it in here,” she said, holding her clutch out to him.

“I vividly remember you telling me once not to throw things at you,” he said, flirting a little with her, and she smiled, realizing their discovery was making him feel better, and they might end up having a little bit of fun after all.

She just bit her lip and flirted back with her eyes as he wrapped the gun back in the box and burlap, leaving the bullets out of it, and he put it all in Rose’s bag.

“Want me to hold it?” he asked her seriously, and she kissed him.

“I’m fine. Promise. Want my snacks,” she said, and he felt himself fall more in love with her as she walked toward the stable doors. She watched the estate carefully, and she looked at the telescope, still sitting out of the large windows, taking a deep breath.

“What were you doing? While I was in the cellar?” she whispered.

“Rose, they told me that you were still trying to figure out what to wear. If I had any idea -” he said, and she kissed him.

“Shut it, still not worried about that,” she murmured. “Just wanna know where in the house we can go.”

He stared at her, and his jaw clenched. “We can’t go inside, Rose.”

“We have to,” she said. “The soldiers get drugged. That means Mr. Townes will be unconscious and we can take a look at that letter.”

He looked up at the telescope as well and he ran a hand through his hair. “We were in the dining room. Some of the Brethren were there. The Queen, Robert, and Reynolds.”

“Oh, he was brave,” Rose said sadly, and he just nodded.

“Yeah, he was,” he murmured. “The kitchen should be empty, right? If all the staff is in the cellar?”

“Let’s find out,” she said, and watched the sky turn an even deeper shade of pink. The Doctor’s internal clock was ticking, telling him they had another thirty minutes or so before it was completely dark, and they moved forward, keeping an eye out for any lingering members of the Brethren, and they reached the kitchens.

They noticed the mistletoe Isobel would see in a few hours and they each took a small twig, tucking it in their pocket just in case they came across the wolf at all, and they pressed up against the wall next to the archway that led to the hallway. They waited for a moment, until the Doctor glanced back out the back door and saw the sun was getting lower in the sky, now a crimson color, and he felt the wheels in his mind turn.

“How were the officers drugged?” he whispered.

“There was a chalice by the one Flora and I found, I think it was a drink,” she murmured.

“Did it look like one of those?” he asked carefully, pointing to the wooden table all the mistletoe was on. Rose looked, and she stared for a moment, when suddenly they heard footsteps, and he grabbed her with a force he didn’t know he had as they bolted out of the kitchen and ducked under the window outside.

Father Angelo was muttering in Latin, telling the other members of the Brethren to get to work. Rose’s heart was pounding, and the Doctor held her close to him as they waited. The monks worked quickly, making their drugged tea or cider or whatever it was they fed the soldiers, Rose didn’t care, and she bit her lip.

_I’m upstairs looking at dresses. What are you doing?_

_Talking to Robert and the Queen. Still in the dining room._

They locked eyes, and they held their breath as the monks left the kitchen to deliver their drinks. Father Angelo walked to the window just above their head, and Rose covered her mouth to silence her breathing as the Doctor tried to get them to tuck against the wall as much as they could, his heartbeat in his ears as Father Angelo stared out at the hillside and stables, and Rose realized he was looking for the moon.

He turned away and walked back upstairs, and Rose collapsed into the Doctor’s side.

“Oh, that was scary,” she whispered. He couldn’t speak, his emotions a complete mess, and he kissed her, needing to feel her touch him as much as he could for a moment.

“We can’t stay much longer,” he said. “Let’s just find Mr. Townes, get the letter, and get the hell out of here.”

“Okay,” she said. He squeezed her hand, letting hazel galaxies swim in chocolate for a moment.

“Come on,” he said, and they walked back into the kitchen and out into the hall. Rose’s eyes glanced over at the door she knew led downstairs to the cellar, and she bit her lip.

They heard a thud above them, likely soldiers collapsing after taking a sip of their drinks, and Rose jumped.

“It’s okay,” the Doctor said, and he kissed her hand. “He’s not down here.”

“No,” Rose said, “We have to move quickly and hide.”

They raced up the stairs to the main floor where the dining room was, and immediately tucked behind a door, peering over the edge. They heard laughter coming from the room, and Rose gave her husband a look.

“What was so funny?” she whispered. He bit his cheek.

“Her Majesty just said the ‘feral child’ could eat ham raw,” he murmured.

“Wait, does she mean me?” she scoffed. The Doctor didn’t reply, he just scanned the area with his sonic screwdriver and grabbed her hand, leading her away from the dining room, not wanting to be anywhere near his past self.

They raced up the stairs to the next floor when they suddenly heard a muffled scream, and Roes grabbed the Doctor’s arm.

“Flora,” she said. “Doctor, I’m going to be coming this way.”

“Go,” he said urgently, still under his breath, and they ran across the hall, sonicing the door to a spare bedroom open just as the Brethren pulled Rose and Flora down the corridor, and the Doctor clenched his fist.

“I’m fine,” she reminded him in his ear, and he pushed the door open with a touch, watching until the coast was clear, but he felt his stomach twist when he saw Rose kick and fight against the man holding her, her hair messy and her arms red with fingerprints, and he pressed his forehead to the wood.

“How long until the wolf wakes up?” he asked bitterly, and she rubbed her lips together.

“I was down there about forty minutes,” she whispered. He sighed.

“Rose…” he said, and he pulled her into a hug.

“I love you too, yeah? We have to go, come on,” she murmured, and she held his hand as they walked back out, passing the soldier she had checked on with Flora. They peered into each room, trying to figure out which outlook spot Mr. Townes had been stationed, but the estate was large and they had to move slowly, terrified of pulling a pebble from the water.

He was holding her hand so tightly it was growing numb, and they moved to another floor, checking the few soldiers they came across carefully.

“We’re running out of time,” the Doctor muttered. “Look at the moon.”

They were standing on the stairwell in between the second and third floor with the window right next to them and Rose glanced out, seeing it bright and round and ready for a transformation. She closed her eyes, and let the wolf inside of her guide them.

“Go downstairs,” she said, following him as they moved back toward the first floor.

They heard a wolf howl.

“Damn it,” the Doctor groaned, and he had his sonic screwdriver ready. “Stop. The dining room…”

“You’ve already left, right? We’re together once the wolf howls,” Rose said, and he just looked at her.

“The Queen hasn’t,” he whispered, and they grabbed hands about to try to run back upstairs when Queen Victoria’s voice sounded through the hall, firm and proper.

“The correct form of address is Your Majesty,” they heard her say, followed by a gunshot, and Rose nudged her husband’s ribs as she smiled.

“Oh, that clever woman,” she said. He shook his head and smirked at her. 

“She wasn’t amused then, was she?” he mumbled, and Rose bit her lip as they raced back upstairs, waiting.

“We’re all gathering in the hall near the kitchen,” he murmured. “We’ll be back up here soon. We’ll try to get the Queen out the window, the wolf will break in, and we’ll be running up these same steps to that library.”

“We’re clever. We’ll be okay,” she assured him. “Townes wasn’t on any of the floors. He must be outside somewhere, and the best way to get there without being spotted is through the front door.”

"Feels counter-intuitive,” he joked, and she kissed his cheek.

He clenched his jaw and she held his hand as they watched Queen Victoria exit the dining room and place a revolver back in her purse, running down the hall.

“Go, go, go,” Rose said, her Instincts awake and howling like the werewolf that was running across the lawn, and they bolted down the stairs.

“Rose, wait,” the Doctor hissed, pulling her back and hiding behind a table with a tall vase as Reynolds pushed the dining room door open next, holding his arm that Father Angelo had twisted and searching for the Queen. He darted past them in a frenzy and raced up the stairs, and Rose and the Doctor both felt guilt run through them for a moment, aware he was running to his death. “We have a minute, maybe two.”

“Okay,” Rose said, and they ran like mad toward the front doors, pushing them open and immediately moving to the bushes, once again hiding. “If we bend down one more time, Doctor, she’s going to make me pay for it later.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, running his hand along her back and kissing her forehead.

The wolf howled again, and the front doors hadn’t closed entirely, giving them a view of themselves as they argued by the stairs on the main floor.

“What do we do?” Rose heard herself ask.

“We...run,” the Doctor replied, his uncut hair a little wild.

“Is that it?” she snapped.

“You got any silver bullets?” he retorted, and Rose bit her lip as she listened to both of them, trying not to laugh.

“What?” he whispered.

“We’re arguing like we’ve been married for years,” she said, and he smiled at her.

“Bantering, not arguing,” he offered, and she just looked at him, still holding her laughter back. 

“The irony. All this time I had them,” she said, holding up her clutch with the revolver and bullets inside, and he smiled at her, turning his attention back to the archway, seeing themselves, the Queen, and Robert run away.

“We don’t come down for a while,” he murmured. “Let’s find Townes.”

They pulled themselves out of the bush and the Doctor sniffed, moving to the soldiers by the front door and scanning them. Rose was a few feet away, about to turn the corner back toward the stables, but the Brethren were standing guard outside the kitchen, dressed in orange and wearing mistletoe, and she backed up quickly.

She saw Mr. Townes, asleep by the pathway toward the stables to the left of the Brethren, and Rose deducted quickly, weighing all her options. The Doctor moved to stand beside her.

“Eat something,” he whispered.

“No time,” she said, and he pulled her clutch out of her hand and handed her a nutrient rich wrap.

No more granola bars.

“Adrenaline, love. You’re high on it, but I can feel it. You’re hungry. Eat. I’ll take care of this,” he told her, and she knew better than to argue with him at the moment. He kissed her head as she began to chew, and he snuck around in the tall grass, hidden in the darkness until he reached Townes’ body. The Brethren, he noticed, were staring at the kitchen intently and he glanced over, watching Isobel’s brilliance as she instructed the maids to gather all the mistletoe, and he looked around.

“HA!” he said under his breath, his favorite Harry Potter book coming back as he found a stone on the ground and chucked it in the opposite direction to create a distraction. He hit a bucket or barrel of some sort and the sound reverberated against the stars, and it made the Brethren turn their heads. He jumped out of the grass and pulled Mr. Townes into it, searching his person for the letter.

He let out a breath when he found it and opened it up, still hiding in the grass, and he used the light from his sonic screwdriver to read it over quickly.

He felt his hearts drop to his stomach.

“Bloody hell…” he said softly, and he sniffed, putting it back into the man’s pocket. The Brethren were muttering to themselves and he began to walk backwards towards Rose, who was finishing her wrap when he grabbed her hand. “TARDIS, now. Let’s go.”

“What did it say?” she asked.

“Let’s just get to safety,” he said, glancing over his shoulder as the sound of the wolf was heard again, and his eyes lingered on the telescope. “Nothing more we can do here. It’s getting too dangerous.”

“Doctor,” Rose said, stopping him as he tried to pull her away from the estate. “What did it say?”

He clenched his jaw, “It was an apology.”

“To who?” she asked.

“The wolf,” he muttered. “That boy? The one who was taken at night once in a generation? The one the wolf is using?”

“Yeah?” she said.

“His brother,” the Doctor whispered. “Apparently, Townes did something. Saved himself, it seems. Made them choose him.”

“What?” Rose whispered, and just sighed.

“Gets better. His name was Patrick,” he muttered.

Rose stared at him, and the Doctor just grabbed her hand. Both of their minds were swirling, and Rose traded her boots out for trainers, letting out a cry of relief as they began to run back up the hill, away from the estate and toward the fields of tall grass.

They heard the wolf howl one last time.

They ran.

The Doctor was moving slower than usual. Rose’s dress and belly was making it hard to be swift, and when the estate was far enough away he felt she was safe, he dropped her hand and let her catch her breath.

“You alright?” he asked, and she nodded. It would be a few hours before the sun was up and they hitched a ride on the back of Dougal’s cart, and she took advantage of that and stayed right where she was for a minute or two, not in a hurry to keep walking. “I’ll go get the ship. Repark it -” 

“I’m not leaving you,” she whispered, reaching her hand out for him. “It’s just cold. Hurt my lungs a bit to breathe.”

“Come here,’ he said, regulating his body temperature a little higher and pulling her to him. His arms held her securely, and he closed his eyes, kissing her temple slowly a few times, his nerves over timelines and paradoxes finally dissipating entirely now that he knew they wouldn’t come across anyone they shouldn’t. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop,” she said, holding onto him. “Don’t even know what you’re apologizing for.”

“I didn’t...I was...That entire time, Rose, I -” he said, and she pulled away, smirking at him.

“I was scared, too. Don’t do that,” she whispered. “This wasn’t something I wanted to do, Doctor. It was something I knew we needed to. And it worked out. We have more of the puzzle, yeah?”

He just sighed, releasing his grip in her and sliding his hand into hers and they began to walk back to the TARDIS, a thousand twinkling lights dancing above their heads, completely oblivious to the terror taking place a mile away from them.

“I think it’s safe to assume Townes feels guilt,” the Doctor muttered. “The letter said something about wanting to undo the past if he could. He had been tracking the Brethren for years.”

“Maybe he joined the Queen’s staff after he realized she was bit,” she whispered. “Wanted to make up for everything. Maybe he told her everything and they worked together to find a cure. Maybe he was the one behind the diamonds.”

“Maybe,” the Doctor said. “ It's all just speculating, still, Rose.”

“Better than where we were,” she told him, looking up at him as they walked. “It would explain why he was so desperate to keep her alive.”

“Patriotic duty…” he muttered. “Lots of meaning in that, isn’t there?”

“Seems so,” Rose whispered, and she suddenly stopped and gripped her abdomen, and the Doctor looked at her in alarm.

“Rose?” he said, the tone of his voice instantly different. He was controlled and concerned, and she shook her head, trying to assure him she was fine.

“Cramp,” she said. “It’s okay.”

“Where?” he asked, his eyes tracing her face.

“Here,” she said, pointing, and he scanned her immediately, and sighed.

“It’s a timestamp. First one in a while it seems,” he said softly. “You’re okay.”

“Told you,” she said, cupping his cheek in her hand. “We did it, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled, kissing the inside of her palm. “We did.”

They both smiled, and suddenly they started to laugh a little, a combination of pure relief and a hundred other things, and she hugged him, letting his scent fill her lungs entirely.

“I almost kissed you, you know,” he said, pulling away.

“When?” she asked, smiling as he grabbed her hand again, and they continued their walk back to the TARDIS.

“After the hug in the library,” he said, winking at her. “All that mistletoe.”

She laughed and leaned her head on his shoulder, and he kissed her forehead.

“Would it have counted or would you have blamed it on tradition?” she teased.

“Both,” he said softly, and their eyes danced for a moment, when suddenly a burst of light pierced the sky against the moon and they turned and watched, holding hands.

“Everything is exactly as it should be,” she whispered. He just squeezed her hand, feeling rather emotional. 

He held on to her. 

“Yep,” he mused, watching as the light vanished, and he took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

They walked in silence for a bit, and Rose had her hand on her belly. He was watching the stars and he smiled. “Which way do you want to go?”

She looked at him, and he was grinning, a happy sound escaping his throat, and she knew that not fracturing their timeline was making him want to celebrate. “That way.”

“That way?” he asked. She bit her lip.

“No, wait...That way,” she mumbled.

“That way?” he said.

“Yeah, that way,” she cooed, and he stopped walking so he could kiss her, his hand wrapped in her wig, and she moaned a little. He took control, guiding his hands to her waist and up her spine and bringing his tongue out to hers, and they kissed under the moonlight, as they had so many times before.

He held her as tightly as he could with her belly between them, and he was reminded with each brush of her lips just how much damn hope she gave him. An impossible thing he was impossibly in love with, and he whimpered against her lips, wishing he had the words to describe just what she means to him. Her arms wrapped around his neck and latched into his hair, similar thoughts in her mind, and they could hear it all, making them both speechless, and they poured what they wanted to say into their kiss. They pulled away when Rose felt faint, and he held her up, his forehead pressed to hers. 

“I love you, Rose,” he whispered.

“I love you,” she said, and they kissed again before they kept walking back to the TARDIS, feeling hope and love and determination, and the dematerialized into the Vortex just before the sun would rise and they would become Sir Doctor and Dame Rose.

That thought made Rose smile and remember the day she discovered she was pregnant, and they both knew it wouldn’t be long before a new kind of wolf howled.

They had no idea what was coming their way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To everyone who had read, reviewed, left kudos, or subscribed - thank you so so much!! It's been a damn hard year I know, and this universe gives me some joy. Hope you all like it :)

**Author's Note:**

> I love recommending songs I listen to while I write in case anyone wants to check them out, and I just found this one while I'm writing the story that follows this one and it HURTS SO GOOD. 
> 
> "Arcade" by Duncan Lawrence. I sometimes just have to listen to songs that remind me of cannon to remind me just how much these two love each other. Break my heart.


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